


I Like you most

by RoseLaflesh



Series: Ruby and Ruby [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Sadness, Self-Esteem Issues, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 07:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7792954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseLaflesh/pseuds/RoseLaflesh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leggy is trapped alone on an asteroid until she manages to stop Eyeball from aimlessly drifting away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Like you most

**Author's Note:**

> I've shipped these two ever since I first saw the Ruby squad. The way that Leggy holds onto Eyeball makes me think there's something between the two, at least on Leggy's end.

Leggy sat on her asteroid, grateful for any sort of surface under her feet. Her squad had long floated out of view and now it was just her alone. She had never been alone before. It was terrifying. She wanted to run and hide, but the asteroid offered no shelter.

She wanted to be back on Earth, on their ship, Homeworld. Anyplace that wasn’t here. The system’s star baked her gem with radiation. She turned her body to face her gem away. It helped a little. She wasn’t sure what to do now. She wasn’t trained for this. So far from any other gem, there was no one to give her orders. There was no one to protect. There was no one to protect her.

The space above her was so big and black it seemed to swallow her whole. She was a small gem. Maybe it wasn’t just her height, but the way she held herself. Even so, she was just a Ruby, so small and alone with nothing but the vastness of space to keep her company.

She yelled out for her squad. Screaming for another Ruby, any Ruby, any gem. Right now she’d even take the traitorous gems that put them in this mess. Anything was better than nothing. She hoped that one of her squad eventually found their way back to their ship. She hoped that once that happened, they wouldn’t stop searching until they found her. She hoped she would find everyone safe and sound. She hoped for a lot of things. There was nothing much else she could do. A single Ruby like her didn’t stand a chance.

As she stared blankly into the void of space, she could see something flying at her. At first she thought it was a small bit of iron filled space debris. But as the red dot began to come closer, she recognized the humanoid shape and color of another Ruby. She nearly jumped off her asteroid with excitement. 

She tried to calculate where she needed to be to catch the Ruby. She wasn’t sure which member of her squad this was, but she would take anyone. Preferably not Army because she was always a little too loud for Leggy’s liking, but once they started getting themselves back together, they were that much closer to completing their mission.

She nearly missed catching the other Ruby. Her finger tips were only just able to grab onto the other’s ankles and the momentum nearly sent both of them flying into space, but thanks to a gem's attraction to solid surfaces, they instead ended up leaving a deep crater in the already rough stone.

Both gems groaned. Their bodies ached from the impact as they gathered themselves. Leggy finally managed to get a good look at which Ruby she saved. Joy overtook her as she realized it was Eyeball.

“Ruby,” She cried in delight, jumping to wrap her close friend in a hug.

“Get off me,” Eyeball grumbled rubbing her gem.

“Are you okay? You’re not cracked are you?” Leggy reached out to check Eyeball’s form.

Eyeball knocked her hand away. “No, I’m fine.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Everything.” Eyeball’s voice was barely more than a growl. “I failed.”

“I know we failed. Those crystal gems are tricky. But once we get everyone back together, we’ll show them.” Leggy punched the air. It was what Army and Doc usually did to cheer the others up. With them gone, Leggy tried to be the kind of gem she was supposed to be. A fighter rather than a hider.

“It’s not just that. The small one, not the Amethyst, but the one that kind of looks more like a human? That’s Rose Quartz.”

“What!? No way.”

“She proved it by healing my gem.” Eyeball laughed darkly to herself. “I tried to get her gem. She was so weak. It should have been easy.”

“What happened.”

“She kicked me out into space. Rose Quartz made herself as weak as a human, she was unarmed, and yet I still couldn’t poof her.”

“But, I mean, it’s Rose Quartz. You would have needed all of us to defeat her.”

“I know. I was so sure I had the advantage.” Eyeball punched the ground. “I was so sure that I would return a decorated hero. I’d be given honor, admiration, my own Pearl. I could have had it all. But that’s how things are. Just when you think you have something, it’s taken away. I thought we had Jasper, but it turned out to be a trick. I thought I had Rose Quartz, but I lost that fight. I thought I had a squad, but I lost them again. I lose everything. I’m just a big loser.”

“I’m a loser too. We can be losers together.” Leggy said softly, trying to reach out again to comfort Eyeball.

She wasn’t listening. She was far too wrapped up in a cloud of self-loathing. “No one will love me.”

“I love you,” Leggy said.

Those words shook Eyeball out of her gloom for a second before sinking back in. “You don’t count.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re my squad. I want the real kind, like the Ruby in that Garnet fusion has. Besides, you shouldn’t pick favorites among squad members.” Eyeball crossed her arms and leaned away.

“But so what if we’re in the same squad,” Leggy trailed her finger through the dust, “I love you. I love being with you. I love fighting with you. I love the way that you’re always there for me. Why isn’t that enough?”

“Because... because… it’s not the same! I respect you too much to be in love with you. With love, you’re either the one controlling or being controlled. That’s how love is. I care about you too much to want you like that.” 

“That Ruby and the other gem didn’t seem like they were controlling each other.”

“That’s because we just met them. You’re young and naive but believe me, I have never seen a love where one gem doesn’t have more control than the other.”

“Oh,” Leggy said sadly as she felt her dreams come crashing down.

Seeing her friend in despair was too much for Eyeball. She wrapped an arm around Leggy and pulled her close, much to the Ruby’s surprise. 

“Don’t tell anyone, but you’re the Ruby I like most out of our squad,” Eyeball mumbled like she was trying to make sure that no one else heard her.

Leggy leaned her head against Eyeball’s shoulder. “I like you most too.”

Eyeball put her head on top of Leggy’s, fitting head and shoulder like puzzle pieces. Both gems felt comfortable and safe for the time being. A smile etched its way onto Eyeball’s face. She didn’t think it was love, and it certainly didn’t come close to making up what she lost, but she found she liked being right where she was. As the two Rubies cuddled, the universe didn’t seem as vast.


End file.
